Table Scraps

Kaze Sushi rises to new heights

When the new food and beverage director for Whistler-Blackcomb
told me about renovations to the Mountain Market, I had no idea where he was
talking about.

He carries on to talk about the pizza, and burger and fries
stations.

The light bulb goes on in my head.

He means “the cafeteria” in the Roundhouse. The place where you
grab trays to load up a quick lunch that hopefully has minimal impact on your
ski time and your wallet.

I remember when my dad used to take my sister and I to Whistler
in the 1990s. Even as a kid, I noticed how expensive lunch was and how usually
we would take the extra time to go down to the village for a deli sandwich,
pack our own lunch or more often than not some kind of granola/health bar that
could be munched on a lift.

Times have changed and now lunch — even a healthy choice — can
be purchased for $10 on Whistler Mountain and the former cafeteria is now a
market, suggesting more selection, healthier choices and price variety.

Paul Street, the newly appointed director, filled me in on the
changes that occurred earlier this winter. Street steps into his new role with
more than 20 years of working in the industry, many of those years managing and
general managing Whistler-Blackcomb restaurants and bars.

Whistler-Blackcomb invested $250,000 in renovations for the
Mountain Market at the Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler Mountain.

“Those renovations took away the institutional look of the
place,” he explained. “We added a lot of wood and river rock fascia to make it
a more comfortable space, more timeless and in keeping with the theme of the
Roundhouse Lodge.”

A new deli station has been added, along with a larger
selection of soups, eight to be exact.

Skiers can grab an artisan sandwich as a healthier alternative
to a burger. Sandwiches include tuna nicoise, candied-salmon salad, pakoras
wraps, crispy chicken, and roast beef and aged cheddar.

Another healthier addition to the market is a sushi case with
pre-made sushi from the infamous Tokyo Tom of Kaze Sushi. Tom is a longtime
local who upholds the highest standards of quality product and authentic
preparation. So when you pick up sushi at the Mountain Market, customers know
they aren’t getting those nasty sushi rolls loaded with preservatives and cheap
fish, but instead quality product made fresh each morning by a local self-made
businessman who lives and raises his family in Whistler. You might even catch a
glimpse of the sushi master coming into the Roundhouse with one of his ski classes.

“People in Whistler know their sushi; we wanted the best,”
Street said. “All of these developments came out of research.”

Research not only showed people were looking for healthier
alternatives, but cheaper ones as well.

Whistler-Blackcomb answered the call with the $10 value meal
with classic pairings such as burger, fries and pop, and a soup and sandwich
deal for $10.

Now I might still ski with a granola bar in my jacket for those
days when powder demands it, but from time to time, it might be nice to ski
without crumbs in my pocket, and opt to venture out of my usual French fries on
the fly choice and try something new.